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Tradition and tourism Fort McPherson cultural centre has grand opening
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, July 24, 2013
TETLIT'ZHEH/FORT MCPHERSON
It’s come a long way, but Fort McPherson’s new cultural centre aims to bring tradition and tourism together.
Fort McPherson celebrated the grand opening of the Chii Tsal Dik Gwizheh Tourism and Heritage Centre on July 25. From left, elder Doris Itsi, Michel Lemieux, Inuvik region manager of trade and investment for the the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation's, Johnny Kay and Chief William Koe. - photo courtesy of Judith Venaas
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The building that houses the newly-opened Chii Tsal Dik Gwizheh Tourism and Heritage Centre was formerly in another location about 20 kilometres outside of the community, said project manager Johnny Kay.
It was once a lodge for on-the-land healing programs, but funding for programming dwindled in the 1990s and the facility shut down, said Kay.
The log building was still in great shape, so the community decided to raise the funds needed to transport the lodge into Fort McPherson.
A crew then moved the entire building along the ice road and into town.
“It came all in one piece, no log was taken out,” Kay said. “It was a real huge job in itself.”
The building is owned by the Gwich'in Tribal Council, but is being operated by a subsidiary. The centre had its grand opening on July 25 and has already hosted its first tourists. Visitors travelling up the Dempster Highway and paddlers on the Peel River stopped into town just in time for the big event, Kay said.
Elder Doris Itsi helped hold the ribbon during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Itsi said she is thrilled about the new centre and the opportunities it brings to Fort McPherson.
“I thought it was the most wonderful thing that ever happened in our community because of the things that could be done in there and is going to be going on,” she said. “It’s good for tourists and it’s good for the community.”
Centre staff are also scheduling cultural activities to take place throughout the summer, such as walking tours, fish-cutting demonstrations and live fiddle music.
Kay said the goal is to provide activities to attract tourists and community members from the area.
“Down the road, they’re hoping to get into hide-tanning demonstrations and workshops on snowshoe making and storytelling by elders,” he said.
The centre has a kitchen, which will allow the centre to include a café where visitors can get lunch.
Future plans could include winter ecotourism opportunities, Kay said, such as taking tourists up into the Richardson Mountains. The landscape around Fort McPherson is full of history, including traditional trails.
“We could showcase a lot of our history and a lot of the traditional trails up in the Richardson Mountains area.”
The centre, which Kay said is about 18 metres square, is able to accommodate large groups and will be used for community gatherings, regional meetings and possibly even weddings, Kay said.
“Anybody that wants to rent the building can use it,” he said. “We’re suggesting if anybody wants to get married, they could do that in the building.”
Displays in the centre include community arts and crafts such as moccasins, as well as a map featuring more than 400 traditional place names and old newspaper articles about the area.
Kay said he is pleased with how the project has unfolded, though he does wish the weather could have been better the day of the grand opening.
“It wasn’t in our favour, but it’s OK,” he said of the rainy day.
“We did what we had to do and we had a good crowd.”
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